The Same Room, 2023
4K video, stereo, color
16:9, 6 min 43 second loop
Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
The Same Room investigates the dual nature of water, as both a destructive and life-giving force. In collaboration with the Deltares Institute, she recorded a self-made filmset of a bedroom in an industrial wave-tank, where it was deliberately flooded with water for three successive days. By inverting the use of the institute’s controlled environment originally intended to prevent flooding, she questions the human desire to control the course of nature. Furthermore, Kersten is interested in the state of paralysis and tranquility that can occur upon a catastrophe, opening up a space for thinking about the end as a transitional state rather than something final. By combining the personal space of a bedroom with the horrors of a flood, Kersten creates a powerful and emotional image that wavers between clarity and chaos.
